The Dosadi Suite - Cycle 2 - Triad
by OrionXIII
Summary: A Star Fleet crewman and his alien wife become entangled with a foreign colonel and stolen data with the USS Hood and USS Yorktown caught in the middle. Minor re-writes for clarity, title change to fit with the overall book theme. See story notes for explanation.
1. Story Notes

The Dosadi Suite

Story Notes

This is actually a full book, broken into 5 cycles and 3 codas. The story is being told by a reporter – if you want to read things in order here's your table of contents:

Cycle 1 - Fugue

Prologue – Sets the stage.

The story of how a young human Star Fleet engineer meets and falls in love with a Dosadi Imperial Marine. Crosses the events of Coda 2, and 3. Minor appearance by Nurse Chapel.

Cycle 2 – Triad

Continues the story of Wilkes and Sooth, their struggles to have a child while dealing with the espionage intrigues of a Hydran Colonel. Minor appearances by CPT Kirk and CDR Spock.

Cycle 3 – Pivot

Continues the story of Wilkes and Sooth as they become involved in stopping a bio-weapon from being released on Earth under a flag of truce.

Coda 1 – Raid on Romulus

Details the events of the Dosadi raid that destroyed the Romulon capitol city.

Coda 2 – Free For All At Toulagai

Details the events of the first battle where Wilkes, Sooth and COL Jons first met – though on opposite sides.

Coda 3 – The Long Night

Details the events of the Dosadi assault on a Gorn battlestation to recover a defector.

Cycle 4 – Minuet

Tells the story Wilkes' and Sooth's daughter Heather's time at Starfleet Academy while she learns to be a Federation fighter pilot and a details a series of Cardassian atrocities.

Cycle 5 – Finale

Tells the story of Wilkes' and Sooth's son Corin, a Dosadi Special Forces Soldier and his rescue of a young Dosadi child after the Cardassians capture a critical Dosadi planet – and the Dosadi's attempt to retake the planet.

Epilogue – Wraps it all up for you.

End Notes & Acknowledgments – copyright and title information for song lyrics and thanks to the folks who've provided help and suggestions!

I would VERY much like any comments, suggestions, or reviews you would care to offer – positive or negative, even if it's just 'This didn't hook my interest'. Thank you for taking the time to read it!


	2. Chapter 1

_**CYCLE 2 – TRIAD**_

_**CHAPTER 1**_

"_Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." - Plato (Human), Earth._

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER, USS HOOD, UNDER WAY

JUNE 2269

He was holding his arms out to Sooth as she moved towards him across the bay and she suddenly dissolved into blue-white plasma, surrounding him with agony. He tried to scream, tried to beat the flames back with the fire-fighting kit but nothing was happening. He couldn't move – he couldn't breathe. The flames solidified into paralyzing blue-green slime, filling his lungs, drowning him. He tried to shout that she needed help, that she was hurt that...

Ensign Thomas Wilkes woke with a start, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath and on the verge of tears, feeling Sooth's arms pull him close, "Shh." she spoke softly in Dosadi, "It was just a nightmare. I know. It's OK. Let it go." Still shaking, he buried his face in the soft fur of her chest, letting her heartbeat and the soft whirring sound of the _USS Hood_'s ventilators wash away the sound of the flames from his nightmare. They had gotten considerably less frequent in the year since the battle at Airdrie, but they would never go away entirely.

If it wasn't him waking with a scream or in tears, it was Sooth crashing awake and trying desperately to get clear of him. More than once he had found himself thrown across the room while she screamed curses in Dosadi at him. His trips to Sick Bay to get the deep scratches resulting from her kicks patched up had become something of a running joke to the late night Med-Techs. Usually good-natured, but there was always the occasional twit making comments like 'More rough-sex with the cat lady?' No matter how far human society and culture evolved, there would always be idiots.

Not that their relationship hadn't caused a lot of running jokes and crude commentary anyway. Starfleet was remarkably tolerant of different cultures, even of people enjoying relationships with people in those other cultures. But usually it was something a bit more...well, HUMAN. Vulcans looked like slightly mysterious people. Orions – particularly the women – were just humans with a bit more color and exciting appetites. Betazoids were indistinguishable from humans...but a _cat?!_ Wilkes had been disciplined once for beating to a pulp a Lieutenant from the astrogation section after the man made a comment about whether or not there was a litter box in their quarters.

It didn't help that Wilkes continued to wear the Warrior Pendant, nor the tattoo around his eye. He _had_ taken the earring out while on duty, but he flatly refused to take the Pendant off, and Captain Karmes had allowed it besides. It really didn't matter much to Wilkes what the few fools thought, or said. The vast majority of the crew aboard the _Hood_ were good people and most saw him as an interesting eccentric and Sooth as a fascinatingly exotic teammate. Although he refused to discuss specifics of what had happened during his tour aboard the _ISS Delos_, stories still spread. Some true, some false.

The Federation was at peace and military skirmishes like those that the _Hood_ had participated in at Toulagai were very rare and of little importance to those not directly involved. Usually the risk to Starfleet crews was from the unknown, the undiscovered, or the undetected. Most of their time and most of their missions were spent on voyages of exploration and science, not of battle and conquest. It was a sharp contrast to the smaller, fringe empires like the Dosadi who spent a lot of time squabbling over resources or territory. More than one person had commented that the Federation encouraged these little fights as test-beds for their weapons, tactics, and technology.

To the _Hood_'s Engineering section, Wilkes' heavy combat experience with Green Wing was a welcome source of real-world expertise and the Chief Engineer had rewritten a number of the Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) and procedures based upon his recommendations. In Security, Lieutenant Wu had placed Sooth in charge of training and they now ran frequent boarding and damage-control drills based upon her experiences. But like Wilkes, outside of her duties, there was no real discussion of what she had seen, or experienced, especially not those horrible few minutes at Airdrie, nor the many agonizing months of healing and therapy afterward.

That morning, the Security Team had just finished a repel-boarders drill and Sooth and her new partner Petty Officer Kalea Mahi'ai were stowing their gear in the womens' locker room. As the drill leaders, they were the last in to get cleaned up. Putting the heavy armor into the rack, Kalea said, "I've been in Starfleet three years and I don't think I've worn this crap as much in the whole three years as I have since you came aboard, Sooth."

Sooth smiled, "I was surprised how little Starfleet wears armor. We wear it all the time in the Imperial Fleet – it stops a hand phaser cold and even a phaser rifle takes a solid hit to get through it. I don't understand why Starfleet Security still uses hand phasers at all." She ran her hands across her head and ears, "Ugh. Helmet fur."

Kalea explained, "Starfleet doesn't do a lot of combat – at least not without plenty of warning. You can't stun someone with a plasma rifle or a rail gun." She winked, "We'd rather do our enemies in by peaceful means..."

Laughing, Sooth stripped off her uniform and headed into the shower, "Must! Get! Clean!" Always a fast learner, by now her Standard was quite good, although still with a noticeable accent.

A few moments later, Kalea followed her in, teasingly saying, "And here I thought cats didn't like water."

Sooth bared her fangs at her, but her ears were up and she said, "One of these days I have GOT to see one of these cats everyone says we look like in person."

"When I was a little girl in Waimea – back on Earth - we had a kitty, she was so soft and fuzzy." Pausing a moment the little Hawaiian said, "Sooth, can I ask a really personal question?"

"Yes." Sooth began applying shampoo – a sizable task on a five-foot being covered in fur.

"Well, how old are you, anyway?"

"I'm 18 Earth-Standard years. Dosadi are considered adults at 16, Earth-Standard. And we usually live to the late 80's if we die of old age, which isn't often." and she chuckled.

There was a pause, filled only with the sound of running water and Kalea continued, "But don't you want to have kitte...I mean a baby some day?"

Sooth laughed, "We call them kittens, well, that's the closest Standard word to it. And yes, I do. Now, anyways. I didn't used to."

"CAN you? With Wilkes, I mean...I'm sorry, that's really personal. I shouldn't have asked you that. My dad always said I was as curious as a ca..um."

Sooth smiled, "I don't mind. We don't know yet. There's something about chromosomes and haploid numbers and after that it got technical." she shook her head, spraying water in a dozen directions, "There's at least one doctor who thinks it's possible, on Earth."

"Um...would it look like you, or like Wilkes?"

"I have no idea. Just so long as they have fur..." she flicked her arm towards Kalea, the water sheeting off her fur in a blast.


	3. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER 2**_

"_Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility." _

_- Ambrose Bierce, Earth (Human)_

IMPERIAL ROMULON WARBIRD VENGENCE, UNDER WAY

JUNE 2269

Relaxing in the guest quarters aboard the Romulon warbird _Vengeance_, Colonel Sir Jons Seins, Knight Commander of the Hydran (Sword Worlds) Marines picked up his PADD and let the device do a fast scan for listening devices or monitoring fields. Finding none, he frowned. There was simply no way that the Romulons would leave a foreign officer unmonitored. They had simply changed the fields to something that he couldn't detect.

Removing a small hourglass shaped decoration from his uniform, he set it on the desk and activated it. The Klingon device, a flat hourglass shaped bit of metal, began emitting weird multicolored lights and a loud hissing sound. Smiling to himself, Jons thought "Whatever they're using, that will block both audio and visual." and he activated his PADD and began reviewing his notes from this mission. Ostensibly he was returning from what was left of Romulus after delivering tons of Hydran medical supplies and Federation quadrotriticale grain to help with the humanitarian crisis that had engulfed the planet after the Dosadi raid that had devastated an entire continent almost 3 years ago. However, in addition to his overt mission, Jons had conducted a bit of business – business that would be extremely profitable for his own family and for his Duke and which, if played properly, could lead to just the right amount of instability between the various Star Empires of the known galaxy.

Scanning the information on his PADD, he examined a sort of 'wish-list' from the Romulons. Information on the Federation's latest cloaking-device detection technology as well as some of the more subtle refinements to phasers and shields topped the list. The Romulons were on the ropes and needed all the help they could get, Jons thought to himself. And they were willing to pay handsomely. Add to that the construction contracts for firms he had an interest in and things were working out rather nicely. His wife was an absolute marvel at managing the massive web of directorates, stock interests, and the various commodities that made up interstellar trade. For instance, the Federation had no trade with – and in fact had an active ban on trade with – the Romulon Star Empire. So, many Hydran companies acted as a sort of neutral third party, brokering deals both legal and illegal – from the Federation's point of view anyway. Hydran financial rules were extremely strict about privacy and virtually guaranteed that private business stayed private. One's duty demanded that confidences be kept. They did business with everyone – Klingon, Federation, Avatan, Romulon, Gorn, Orion, it didn't matter. Business was always non-aligned.

There was a soft chime from the door and Jons quickly killed his PADD, deactivated the sensor jammer and replaced it on his uniform. "Come." he said.

"My Commander wishes you to know that we will be de-cloaking soon to rendezvous with your cruiser. You will want to make ready to disembark."

"Very well, Centurion. Thank you."


	4. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER 3**_

"_We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break.." _

_- Marquise de Sevigne', Earth (Human)_

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, UNDER WAY

AUGUST 2269

The _USS Hood_ was making way towards Earth, a rare event for Starfleet cruisers. Usually they were on the frontiers patrolling or exploring or showing a Starfleet presence. However, there had been rumors of espionage by the Romulons and Captain Karmes and his first officer, Commander Kagiso Botha had information too sensitive to transmit over sub-space, encoded or not. They were to be met by the _USS Enterprise_ as apparently Captain Kirk and Commander Spock had been actively involved in counter-espionage against the Romulons as well. Meanwhile, the _USS Yorktown_ was taking over their patrol duties in this sector.

The visit would allow them to exchange several officers as well, trading several experienced section leaders for raw new officers fresh out of Starfleet Academy and promoting several other officers aboard-ship. Others would muster out of Starfleet, their tours finished, and new recruits would join the ship as enlisted crew fresh from training at Great Lakes Facility or it's sister site at St. Petersburg, Russia. Further, the trip meant a rare opportunity for Earth-side leave for those who had family there.

Among those requesting such leave was Ensign Wilkes, to see his parents living in the hamlet of Leyburn in Yorkshire, England. Sitting in the Chief Engineer's tech-manual cluttered office he said, "Sir, I've got more than enough leave accrued. My medical leave aboard the _Delos_ doesn't count against me."

Chief Engineer Ethan White leaned forward, his elbows on his coffee-stained desk, "Thomas, it's not whether or not you've got the leave coming to you. Your section chief and I are both worried about...well, your plans for the future and how they will impact both your service to Starfleet and your family on Earth." The little Australian was clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

Wilkes was irritated and decided to make the man come right out and say it. "My plans, sir?"

Looking disgusted, White said, "Yes, your plans, Wilkes. I know you're planning on meeting with Dr. Mantoux in Marseille. Have you really thought through what trying to have a...a...a whatever with her will be like?"

"It's a child, sir."

"Don't be an ass. I know that. But what kind of child you young drongo!? Is it going to be more human, or cat? Do you have any idea the difficulties that child will have growing up no matter what it turns out to be? Neither human, nor Dosadi, just a..a..bitser, a half-breed."

"I thought we had gotten beyond that sort of thing these last few centuries, sir."

White glared at him. "Of course we have, Wilkes. I'm not being a bad guy, nor a racist, nor a tyrant. But no matter where you go there will be those who will see any child of yours and Sooth's as a monster. Even people who are tolerant of aliens are going to be unsettled. Children of two different cultures – especially those as different as Dosadi and human, always have it hard. And when you're talking mixing two entirely different _species_ and two entirely different basic biologies...You're asking for a nightmare. Assuming it's even possible and assuming the pregnancy doesn't kill her anyway. Did you think about that?"

"Yes, sir. We've talked about all of those things. Dr. Mantoux feels certain that he can produce at least one viable embryo and that he can devise a protocol so that she can carry it to term, and that it will be a healthy, happy, child."

"Are you sure his name isn't Frankenstein?"

"Sir?"

"Never mind. I'm sure you know that Starfleet regulations do not allow me to interfere with decisions of this nature in any way, but I can and DO strongly advise you to consider what it is that you are attempting, how it will impact your lives, your families, and her. I _like_ Sooth and I resent you trying to make me out to be some sort of intolerant bigot. I'm almost three times your age, Wilkes and I've seen more cultures on more planets than you can even imagine. You think that the whole world's against you and you're in love and that's all it's going to take. I hope like hell that you're right, but I can tell you life is not a fairy tale, nor one of the damn space operas that's so popular right now and it rarely turns into happily ever after." He kicked his feet up onto his desk and growled out, "Now get out of my office before I kick your ass on general principle. And give my best to your parents. If your mother gives you any of those Yorkshire curd tarts she makes and you fail to give me some, I will see to it personally that you spend the rest of our trip back to the Toulagai sector cleaning the spare dilithium crystals with your tongue."

With a laugh, Wilkes stood up and said "Yes, sir. I'll tell her, sir." and stepped back into the corridor. As he walked back to his quarters, he _did_ think about what the Chief Engineer had said. His parents were ultra-conservatives, still living in the same village they had been born in. Neither had ever been off planet, or indeed out of England, and both were still active members of the Church Of England, which despite all indications several times in the past, still existed. They had been excited to see him join Starfleet, but as fans of popular entertainments were sure that he would be killed by space pirates, kidnapped by bug-eyed aliens, or forced into slavery in the kingdom of the insect people. He had tried to keep his letters home neutral and hadn't mentioned the severity of his injuries at Airdrie, nor a lot of details about Sooth.

He was beginning to worry about that last part. They knew he was in love with someone. They knew he was going to make a life with her. They knew he wanted children with her. What they didn't know was that she was Dosadi. He had always thought he'd find a way to tell them later. Well, it was later and he was out of time. He decided he'd just bull his way through it. After all, this was the 23rd Century, not the 18th.

Sooth was considerably more worried than he was. Like all Dosadi she was fascinated by history and had spent quite a lot of time reading up on human culture. Her friends among the crew had given her plenty of information about human mating traditions – and she knew that Wilkes' parents were big on traditions, something she approved of.

Dosadi mate for life. Sex between unmated couples was common and seen as a sign of a deep and lasting friendship. But once a Dosadi took a mate, their interest in anyone else pretty much went away. They were monogamous by choice and by tradition. There was no real ceremony to recognize the change in status, it simply became a fact of life. Wilkes was her mate and had been since before Airdrie – but in the human world, there were ceremonies to go through, rituals to complete, and the ever present forms to be filed. And she had absolutely no idea how she would, or could, fit into any of those traditions and rituals.

NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

Riding the shuttlecraft down from the _Hood_ to Heathrow, Wilkes was holding Sooth's hand. To his eyes, she was beautiful, the silver of her earring and the cream and tan of her fur against the midnight black of her cloak with it's solid bronze stripe of rank. But she was trembling. Come to think of it, he decided, he was a little nervous himself. He wondered how his parents would react to his appearance.

He had put on several pounds of muscle since he had signed up. The last time they had seen him was when he had posted to the _Hood_. Freshly graduated from Starfleet Academy, his mother had loaded him up with biscuits, a Yorkshire curd tart, and plenty of tears. His father had given him a solid handshake and a clap on the shoulder, a massive display of emotion for the big Yorkshireman. And now, he was wearing the uniform of a Starfleet Lieutenant (Junior Grade), a Dosadi Warrior Pendant around his throat, a silver earring in his left ear and a tattoo around his left eye. There were still some faint scars visible on his face and neck. Perhaps not quite what they were expecting. Glancing at Sooth he thought not at all what they were expecting.

When they stepped off the APV at the village station, his parents' eyes widened.

His mother, short and a little overweight clapped her hands to her mouth and said, "Or my god, 'es turned pirate!"

His father, a tall, solidy built man and ever unflappable said, "Don't be daft. Nah then, son, oo's this...lass?" he finally decided.

Taking her hand in his, he said, "Mother, Father, I would like you to meet Sooth... my mate." Trying her best, Sooth put her hand on the hilt of her sword and executed a reasonable curtsey.

There was a complete silence stretching out into several seconds. His poor mother finally said, "Tha's marryin' a...cat?'

Sooth's ears and tail drooped instantly and Wilkes was quick to correct her, "Mother, Sooth is a Dosadi, she's also a Marine and a decorated combat veteran."

His father said, "Aye, the lass looks proper tired too. Le's ge' home fer tea." Fortunately home was a short walk from the station in the tiny hamlet and Wilkes' mother was desperately trying to make up for her faux pas while his father, his usual talkative self, contributed perhaps six syllables.

A short while later, Wilkes was in the yard with his father so 'our lasses can ge' ta know each other a bi'.' and he started trying to explain what had happened to him. His father, always reticent, simply listened as his son began to talk, and it all came spilling out. The terror he felt at Toulagai and the horrible guilt after Corin had saved him and let Nollos die. How Sooth had been there for him, how they had fallen in love. About Eletha's kits, and the fire and the horrible events over Airdrie and what had happened to Sooth. He talked about the healing-gel and what he felt like when he thought she was dead, and almost worse, helping her through the pain of regeneration and the endless therapy and his own scars. He told of seeing his friend M'Ralin's blasted body, and the pilots who didn't make it, of friends killed or burned or wounded and about how he felt like a chip in a stream being tossed about by waves he had nothing to do with. He told his father about the nightmares they both still had and finally, the dreams they had for the future. Finally, there was nothing left to say and he lapsed into silence, feeling washed out and empty.

His father looked across the rolling green hills of England and said, "Rate. Sounds propah nasteh. An I didn' take t'lass t'be nesh." Stretching he said, "Le's ge' back an see how our lasses or gettin' on."

Wilkes laughed so hard he almost cried. He finally gained enough control of himself that he hugged his discomforted father and they walked back into the house.

As they came into the sitting room where the tea was still set out, his mother jumped to her feet and held him tight, crying "Oh, Thomas, I 'ad no idea i' was like tha'! Thee didna' say tha' was hur' tha' bad! Nor tha' bloody nightmares!"

Holding her tight, he looked at Sooth. Her ears dropped a little and she said, "She had the right to know, Wilkes."

"Mother, did she tell you HER part of the story?"

"Nae, Thomas." She sniffled and looked at her son. "Thee ha' better tell the whole thin'."

Wilkes sat next to Sooth and began to tell his tale again, this time with Sooth contributing her side of the story as well, sparing nothing. The Yorkshireman and his wife sat silent, listening as their son and his mate told of horrors and of wonders. Of friends and comrades who would never return, of shipboard life and quiet times shared together. Wilkes tried to explain how it was to try to adapt to Dosadi patterns, and Sooth explained the meaning of the Dosadi awards he now wore. She talked of her family and her culture and her struggles to adapt to life aboard the _Hood_. They talked for hours while his parents listened, and watched the two of them.

As they talked, his parents stopped seeing an alien in their sitting room and instead began to see a person. And the more they watched the two of them exchanging little touches and contributing to each others tale, the more they saw what their son saw.

The sun had long since set when they finally finished talking about their hopes for a child.

His mother finally spoke, "Tha' canna' have a child ou' o' wedlock! Tis a sin, an thee has sinned enough."

Wilkes broke down in howls of laughter, much to his mother's annoyance, and Sooth swatted him several times, "Wilkes! Stop that! Respect your mother!"

"I'm sorry! It's just that with everything we've been through and all the problems ahead of us...sin isn't high on my list of things to worry about, mother." Sooth swatted him again and his father glowered, saying,

"T'lass has better sense than thee, Thomas."

"Mother, I've not been to church since I was a boy, and Sooth isn't even a member of the Church!"

"Tha's nowt, Thomas. I'll call t'vicar in t'morning." Fortunately for Wilkes, the Church of England was not the sort of denomination that discriminated. Which is why two days later he found himself slightly bewildered, wearing a dress uniform standing next to Sooth in a borrowed wedding dress saying vows in front of a church full of very curious locals.

One of the natives leaned over to his neighbor and whispered, "I nae though' I'd see a ca' in a dress bein' married before God."

His neighbor looked at him and said, "Nae, thee no dou' expected a sheep."


	5. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER 4**_

"_Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them to secretly give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust." _

_- Aldrich Ames – Earth (Human)_

PARIS, FRANCE, EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

Colonel Jons was sitting at a street-side table at Cafe Le Sancerre on Rue des Abbesses in Paris. Away from the more popular tourist locations, it suited his purposes. Though he was wearing civilian clothes, it is simply not possible for a short, violet-skinned man with white hair to be non-descript in a human city. Aliens were not uncommon in Paris, but they still stood out from the crowd of everyday Frenchmen no matter where they went.

Enjoying a strong black coffee and reading a real paper copy of Le Monde he watched the city go through its morning rituals. Jons felt that coffee was one of humanity's lasting contributions to the universe and inhaled the aroma gratefully. As he was glancing over the cricket scores – a sport he followed avidly when he was in human space – a tall Frenchman in a dark suit seated himself across from him.

"Bon jour, Colonel Jons."

"Just Seins today, Robert. And Standard, please. My French isn't what it should be." He folded the paper and set it down, smiling at his guest.

"Very well, Seins. Is this a...good place to talk?"

"You know as well as I that as things stand these days, one place is as good as another."

"I see. What brings you to Paris?"

"I'm here for the shopping, of course."

The tall man smiled, "You diplomats, always shopping. Of course, Paris is famed for it's shopping. Are you looking for anything special? And is this trip for yourself, or for a friend?"

"The same friend I was shopping for on my last visit – and perhaps for myself as well. I have a list, of course. Some coffee?" He reached for the pot and poured the man a cup. At the same time he smoothly dropped an isolinear chip into the saucer as he clunked the spout of the pot on the edge of the cup, masking the sound of the chip falling.

The Frenchman enjoyed his coffee, the two of them turning their discussion to the cricket matches and France's chances against England in the football World Cup this year.

"Well, Seins, it was as always pleasant to talk with you. I wish you luck with your shopping. Are you in Paris for many days?"

"Perhaps another week, and then I must make a short trip to Marseille to conclude some business for my Duke. There is a duty that I must perform."

"You Hydrans and your duties..." the Frenchman shrugged and stood up. "Bon jour." and he made his way down towards Rue Ravigan. As he left. Jons noticed a tall black woman who had been window shopping across the street immediately turn to follow him.

Frowning to himself, Jons thought for a moment. Robert would, as was his habit, make a loop around the block to see if he was being followed. He would have to cut through the park before taking the Metro. Habits would get a man killed in this business, Jons thought disgustedly.

Leaving a few credits on the table he got up, pulled his cap more tightly onto his head and headed directly to the empty park. Finding a place where his small stature would leave him concealed but without making him look like he was trying to hide he relaxed as though he were simply enjoying the morning air. He didn't have long to wait. A few minutes later, Robert came walking past as though he hadn't a care in the world. As he headed down to the Metro station, the woman following him was hurrying to catch up before she lost sight of him. Focused on Robert, she didn't see Jons and he quickly took advantage of her inattention, the flat-bladed Hydran knife killing quickly and silently as he stepped backwards with her into the shadows of the greenery, another sad victim of a robbery gone wrong.

Quickly relieving her body of anything of value, he found the Starfleet communicator he expected – These could be tracked. Standing up he moved rapidly into the Metro station, purchased a pass and got on the train. Leaving her communicator hidden under a seat cushion, he got off at the next stop, dumping her valuables into an incinerator bin. But not before checking her ID and noting that she had been one Commander Kagiso Botha. He frowned to himself. That name sounded familiar. Having to kill on these sorts of missions was an unpleasant duty, one that should not need to be undertaken. Robert was becoming too careless. A carelessness that could expose his Duke, and that could not be tolerated.

Although Robert's position within Starfleet's Research Branch was extremely useful, that utility was being outweighed by the danger he was creating with his carelessness. Jons decided that his duty to protect the Hydran's penetration of Starfleet outweighed Robert's usefulness. There were others to be considered as well.


	6. Chapter 5

_**CHAPTER 5**_

_I am glad of all details, whether they seem to you to be relevant or not." _

_- Sherlock Holmes – Earth (Human)_

USS ENTERPRISE, IN ORBIT OVER EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

In the briefing room aboard the _USS Enterprise_, Captain Karmes was furious. "Kirk, you said you'd be able to monitor her, that there was little risk, that she would be safe." Chief Engineer White sat by his side in stoney silence.

Kirk frowned and Spock explained, "Captain, with the information that we had available at the time, Commander Botha should have been safe. Indeed, we remained unaware of her fate for some time as her communicator signal continued on its path along the Metro. Whoever the enemy agent is, they are highly adept. Commander Botha was a skilled officer. They left no physical traces upon her communicator and we have not yet recovered any of her other possessions."

Karmes was not mollified, "How did you lose sight of her? Aren't there public sensors in Paris for God's sake? How in the _hell_ can a Starfleet officer be murdered in broad daylight and no one sees or hears anything? And who was she following?"

Continuing, Spock explained, "She was following up on a lead we had developed from one of Captain Kirk's contacts within the Romulon Star Empire." at this, Karmes cocked an eyebrow at Kirk who simply smiled back at him. "Indeed, the information you and Commander Botha brought acted to confirm and focus our suspicions. There is indeed a penetration into Starfleet Research. Your information has allowed us to localize that leak to the Advanced Sub-Space Fields facility at Marseille. That lead led her to the individual she was following. Unfortunately, she did not identify that person before she was killed and he seems to have expended considerable effort to avoid the public sensors in Paris. Her last communication was that the man she was following was apparently meeting his contact at the Cafe La Sencerre in Paris.

"Shortly after that, the sensor logs are fogged."

"Fogged? How do you fog a sensor log?" White asked.

Leaning his elbows on the briefing room table, Kirk spoke up. "Klingon technology. It's called a dazzler. It produces a combination of white noise on a number of spectrums that effectively jams sensors over a short distance. This is highly classified, but it can be set to do anything from completely blocking all sensor detection in a small space to degrading what is captured in a large area to such a degree that everything looks...well...foggy."

Continuing, Spock said "The fact that the individuals involved move freely among the Federation planets while spying for the Romulons and utilizing Klingon technology provides several clues, as do the sensor logs that we do have.

"I was able to reconstruct an image from the logs that should provide a further clue."

He pressed a button on his console and the view screens displayed a badly blurred image of a very short person in what could only be a cap.

"You've got them then! All you have to do is check the logs of the sensors leading up to where they got fogged and find this guy." Karmes exclaimed.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Indeed, Captain. That is exactly what I am doing. However, as you expand the search radius and time frame from this datum, the number of sensor logs increases exponentially requiring a detailed reconstruction of the damaged logs and an analysis of..."

White, studying the blurry, blobby image interrupted. "Hydran."

There was dead silence in the room for a moment. Kirk said, "Explain."

"Look at the height – but the build is too heavy to be a child. And the cap, he's covering his hair and skin color. He knows he's being monitored. And the Hydrans trade with everyone – Klingon, Romulon, Federation...

"That, Chief Engineer White, is a very logical conclusion." Spock said.

Karmes said,, "So all we have to do is find the Hydran who was at that cafe' at that time. Should be easy, right?"

Spock raised his eyebrow and tapping on his console said, "Captain Karmes, there are currently 11,237 Hydrans known to be on Earth. In Europe alone, there are 4,602, due to their business dealings on the European continent. Attempting to localize each of these and cross-reference their travels with the Cafe La Sencerre will take a considerable amount of time and require a massive analysis of sensor logs. That is likely to take more time than we have as the individual we seek will no doubt leave the planet once they have collected the information that they are here for."

"How much time, Commander?"

"At least 6 days, 11 hours, 13 minutes and 42 seconds, Captain Karmes."

"Any idea when the information is supposed to be handed over?" he asked.

Kirk spoke again, "My contact is expecting that they will receive the data in no more than five days time at Toulagai."

"Toulagai? There's supposed to be a Romulon cruiser being given safe-passage to the starbase there right about then. They're negotiating for emergency medical and food supplies for Romulus. The _Yorktown'_s going to be escorting her.

"Wait, there can't be that many Hydran ships going that direction from Earth – We can monitor those ships!"

"Unfortunately, the Hydrans are prolific businesspeople and there is at least one ship every day heading to, or from Toulagai which serves as a sort of hub for many of their dealings. We have taken the precaution of alerting Commodore Selek to be on the lookout for espionage activities and sabotage"

"But if we can find this Hydran before they leave, we can undo the whole thing, right?"

Spock commented, "Precisely, Captain Karmes. We are in a race against time."

At that moment the bosun's pipes sounded and Commander Scott's voice was heard, "Scott to Kirk".

Kirk slapped the button in front of him, "Kirk here, Scotty."

"Aye, Cap'n, We're startin' the refuelin' an resurfacin' the dilithium chambers now. We're right on schedule."

"How long, Scotty?"

"'Tis a five day job, Cap'n. Starfleet's handlin' it tho so I've sent most o' my crew ta leave."

"Keep me posted, Scotty, Kirk out." He looked up at Captain Karmes, "Looks like it's your turn to be the only ship in the quadrant this week, Bob."


	7. Chapter 6

_**CHAPTER 6**_

_Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult." _

_- Hippocrates – Earth (Human)_

MARSEILLE, FRANCE, EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

Wlikes and Sooth left Dr. Mantoux's office near the waterfront in Marseille, Wilkes holding her arm.

Marseille has always been and still is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in all of France. Seeing an alien, even one that looked like a five-foot cat walking arm in arm with a human attracted virtually no attention from the locals. Talking as they walked, Sooth said, "That was...uncomfortable, undignified, and...yuck. Let's just walk for a while. I don't want to go back to the hotel."

"Sure, anything you want. I'm sure it was nasty. But at least its over now, right?"

"Or hopefully just starting. And YOU had the easy part you big monkey!" she glared at him, ears swiveling back and her eyes narrowing.

"I know, Sooth. After three days of being poked, prodded, sampled, and inspected, I can only imagine how you feel right now."

"I thought medicine was supposed to be all hands-off. This felt like something from a hundred years ago."

Wilkes gave her arm a squeeze. "Dr. Mantoux is one of the only Dosadi anatomy experts on Earth, Sooth. And he's no fan of technology – except when it serves his purposes. His whole office is the biggest study in contrasts I think I've ever seen. But he's also one of the best xenogeneticists in the Federation."

"I know. I think he said 'the finest sensors ever invented are eyes, ears, nose and touch' about a dozen times. But I was going to kick him the next time he said 'well that's interesting.' while he was...working on me. I felt like something being dissected!"

"It'll be worth it right? IF it works?"

She was quiet for a while as they walked, and Wilkes was starting to fret. "What if it doesn't, Wilkes? What if it was all for nothing?"

"He said that the recombinant process went well, that at least one..."

"What if its a monster?" and she began crying.

Stopping on the sidewalk to take her into his arms, he smoothed her fur and said, "Shush. That's not possible."

"Still sobbing she said, "Its going to be horrible and you're going to leave and..."

"Holding her shoulders he made her look at him, "Sooth, that's all the goofy hormones he's pumped into you. Remember, he said no excitement for the next couple of days to make sure the zygotes can implant, right? Remember he said you were going to be all over the map emotionally but to try to keep calm? Remember?"

She sniffed, ears, tail, and whiskers all drooping and he continued, "Besides, Sooth, whatever child comes from you will be wonderful and I'll love it because it's part of you. And it will be beautiful whether it's got my green eyes and pink skin or your soft fur and tail. And I'll never leave you, Sooth. I swear it. I would die without you. I never felt so empty as when Corin was telling me what happened to you and I thought you were dead. It was the most awful feeling ever."

Nuzzling her forehead under his chin she said, "I'm sorry, Wilkes. It's almost time for dinner, can we get something to eat?"

"Sure, there's bound to be a cafe or a pub or something here somewhere. Let's just walk a bit until we find one."

Standing in the deepening shadows of a waterfront warehouse, Jons waited patiently for Robert. As he watched the sun begin to set over the breakwater, Robert came up with his typical casual attitude. But, Jons noticed, he was actually doing a fine job avoiding the public sensor nets. Perhaps, he wondered...but no, the decision had been made.

"Bon soir, mon Colonel!" Robert said cheerily as he saw the little Hydran.

"Bon soir, Robert. Standard, s'il vous plait."

"Tres bien." Robert chuckled. "Really, Colonel, we must work on your French on your next visit."

Jons smiled at him, "Were you able to fill my shopping list, Robert?"

"Of course. It's really quite easy, you know." he held up a small pouch clinking with isolinear data chips. "And you have my usual fee for acting as your concierge?"

Extending his hand, Jons held out a single shining isolinear chip to the tall Frenchman. As Robert grasped it, he turned his hand sharply and Robert exclaimed "Ouch!", drawing his hand back, sucking at a small cut on his finger.

His eyes opened wide. Struggling, he gasped out, "No! Wait!" and sagged to his knees.

Jones looked at him sadly, "I'm really quite sorry, Robert. Duty demands that we part on these terms." As the dying man struggled to stay upright he continued, "Have no fear, Robert. Arrangements have been made, your loved ones will be cared for. Duty requires no less." He continued to watch, dispassionately as Robert collapsed from a massive cerebral hemorrhage and died.

Bending down, he retrieved the little bag of chips and placed it in a small diplomatic pouch. Standing back up he thought to himself, "There, that has been discharged. Time for something to eat." Staying out of the sensor nets for the next few blocks, he decided to enter a small pub set back among the usual waterfront warehouses and the like. It had the look of a rather uncultured sort of place and that suited his mood tonight.

Finding a booth in a dim corner, he ordered the strongest coffee they had and began to peruse the menu.

Holding the door for Sooth, Wilkes looked around the dim little pub. He saw a number of French football posters and jerseys on the wall and the few patrons he saw looked large and disreputable. Glancing down at his own English Three Lions shirt, a gift from his father, he said "Um, Sooth, this might not be the best choice."

"I'm sure it's fine Wilkes." The delicious aroma of cooking meats was making her ravenous and she walked in and sat at one of the small tables in the middle of the pub. Neither of them noticed the little man sitting in the booth and for once, preoccupied with his meal, his PADD and the pouch of data chips, he failed to take much note of the two latest arrivals. Just another Dosadi and a human, certainly nothing to pay particular attention to.

As they were working through their meal, Wilkes was becoming more and more uncomfortable. The pub had been slowly filling with young roustabouts, all wearing the French tri-color in one way or another. Sports teams were one of the few vestiges of nationalism left in the Earth of the 23rd century and football was still king. Soccer hooligans were still a frequent cause of public disorder. "And here I sit in a French pub wearing English football colors. NOT smart."

Wilkes became aware that the young toughs were making more and more overt comments about him and about Sooth. So was she.

"I wonder if le chatte would like some milk?" One of them had leaned in close. Wilkes was trying to get a feel for how many of them there were and he decided about a dozen. Sooth was looking at him, ears back, eyes wide looking for cues as to what to do in this situation. On Dosad, she would simply fight them in the challenge ring, one at a time...except she was supposed to avoid any excitement for the next few days...

One of them, the real wit of the group, pointed at Wilkes' Warrior Pendant, tattoo and earring, "Mes amis! What are we doing? It is the fearsome Capitain Midnight! The space pirate from the serials! Merde!" to raucous laughter.

Speaking to Sooth Wilkes said, "We should leave. Now." Standing up he tried to put some credits on the table to cover the bill only to have The Wit grab his arm.

"But you are leaving? So soon? Non, monsieur Tommy! We will get some milk for your pussy...but wait what is this? You BOTH wear the collar?!" he poked at Wilkes' Warrior Pendant and Wilkes jerked his arm back, Two more were interfering with Sooth's attempt to stand, ignoring the deepening growls coming out of her.

"Don't." he said quietly.

The Wit exclaimed, "But which of you holds the leash?!"

Jons finally looked up from his PADD and wishing there was some way to copy the vast amount of data on the chips. The pair who had walked in earlier were being harassed by some local dimwits. Smiling to himself he thought, "Evidently these boys don't know much about the world outside of Marseille. The young man is muscled like a fighter and putting hands on a Dosadi was a fast way to lose those hands. He could see the back of the...female? And the human's face indicated he had just about reached his limit. He was surprised the Dosadi hadn't gone completely berserk by now.

Frowning, he realized that there were more than a dozen of the toughs. Not really any of his business he supposed, but that was hardly winnable odds for anyone. He simply wasn't in the mood to watch a pair of innocent tourists get beaten. Replacing the loose data rods in his pouch and pocketing his PADD he heard a hissing snarl and saw the first two of the toughs go flying as Sooth kicked back and up out of her chair at the same time Wilkes was smashing The Wit's face into the table.

Making his decision he took a small hand-stunner out of his jacket and quietly made his way over to the group that was starting to pile on the two embattled patrons. As he was crossing the floor he noted that most of the customers were evidently used to this sort of thing and did nothing more than move their chairs and beer out of the way.

Wilkes wasn't quite panicked yet. There were too many, but they were holding their own so far. But he had to stop this – Sooth shouldn't be doing anything like this, Dr. Mantoux had said to keep calm for days, not jump into a bar brawl! He needed to clear this mess fast. Fortunately, a bunch of untrained local fools weren't much of a match for a Starfleet officer and a Dosadi Marine. But numbers do tell and they were landing blows and sheer numbers were isolating him from Sooth and hemming him in.

Jons moved along the outer edges of the struggling group. A touch here, a jab there, a gentle stroke of the hand along the back of the neck with the hand stunner...

Wilkes was confused. They were running out of opponents but there was no way they had taken out that many yet. Sooth was in a blind rage, tangled up with two of them, bits of red-white-and-blue shirts and work dungarees flying off them in waves in time to her hissing, snarling, spitting curses. And then, panting, he found himself and Sooth without anyone to fight but a little violet-skinned man in a dark suit with a shock of bright white hair.

Jons held his hand up, displaying the hand-stunner and showing that he meant no threat to the still amped up young human. "I thought, perhaps, to even the odds." and he smiled. He reached his empty hand down to Sooth to help her to her feet, "A gentleman should never fight a lady any..." and he looked straight into Sooth's face. The two of them froze in a comic-opera scene and said at the same time. "YOU! But you're DEAD!"


	8. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER 7**_

"_We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction." _

_- Aesop – Earth (Human)_

MARSEILLE, FRANCE, EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

Sooth, confronted with the face from her nightmares exclaimed, "I killed you!" as Jons said,

"I saw you die!"

Wilkes said, "What the _hell?!_" and a pair of gendarmes came charging into the bar.

Jons, recovering his composure first, held up his now empty hands and spoke to the gendarmes, "Monsieurs, I am Colonel Sir Jons Seins, business attache' to the Hydran Embassy with full diplomatic credentials. I can explain everything." and proceeded to do just that. When he was done giving his account of the little brawl, the corporal asked the barman, "What do you want done with these?" nudging The Wit's unconscious form with the toe of his boot.

"Not a damn thing as far as I'm concerned."

The corporal looked at Wilkes and Sooth, "From what the Colonel says, you can bring charges against them if you wish."

Anxious to avoid any further excitement or difficulties, Wilkes said, "No, thank you. They got what they deserved. Just, maybe, get them out of here?"

The young corporal, glad to be relieved of having to fill out paperwork said, "As you wish." And with a smile he and his partner began rousing the protesting group of young toughs and throwing them into the street.

Jons turned to Sooth, offered his hand and said, "M'lady, will you two please join me at my table? I had often wished to have met you under different circumstances and it would seem that wish has been granted through circumstances too strange to be anything but Providence. I would consider it a privilege to replace your meal – I assure you the Embassy can afford it."

Sooth was dumfounded as she allowed herself to be lead back to the table in the corner. Wilkes was so completely confused he didn't even know where to begin. As they sat, Jons at his most charming, said,

"I must insist upon coffee for all. It is Earth's greatest contribution to the galaxy and I find it has a calming effect after these little excitements."

"Thank you, I usually take tea, but coffee is good too." Wilkes said. Sooth couldn't take her eyes off of Jons.

"Oh, I can remove all preference for tea. There is a little cafe in Paris, La Sencerre, that makes absolutely the best coffees anywhere. I'm afraid it has become a habit of mine when I am in Paris. But please, you now know my name and I do not yet know yours?"

Wilkes, somewhat more composed said, "I'm Lieutenant J.G. Thomas Wilkes, _USS Hood_, and this is my mate, Crew Leader Sooth, also _USS Hood_."

"A Dosadi? Assigned to the _Hood?"_ Jons studied them both for a moment, "And you, you wear the Warrior Pendant, and both an earring and an Honor Tattoo, yet you say you are in Starfleet? I am unaware of any human _ever_ being granted the right to wear those decorations. And how did Crew Leader Sooth find her way to Airdrie if she serves in Starfleet? And you say she is your mate? That is also a first to my knowledge."

Wilkes, aware that he was talking to a foreign diplomatic officer, was trying to be sure that he didn't give out any confidential information while he explained the outline of his Starfleet career, his tour aboard the _Delos_ and his relationship with Sooth. Jons, however, was a skilled interrogator and during the course of their conversation learned much about Federation training, relations with the Dosadi Imperium, and even tactics.

Turning to the still silent Sooth he said, "M'Lady. I must congratulate you on your skill in battle. In my culture, women stay home and take care of more tranquil pursuits. I confess to being shocked at learning that the Marine who defeated me in hand-to-hand combat and shattered my face was a woman."

Sooth, having had time to regain her mental balance said, "I thought I had killed you. I've never fought anyone who moves the way that you do – I couldn't get you off my rifle! Things got very confusing after that."

Recognizing that the very young woman had not yet come completely to terms with what had happened to her he continued, "I can only imagine, my dear. The wounds you suffered were...severe." he finished delicately. He paused, gave a very gallic shrug and added "I can tell you that the Gorn are, to this very day, astonished at your actions. The tapes of the ballroom fight have, in fact, entered into Gorn training routines. You conducted yourself with great honor and a tremendous attention to your duties. I am proud that you were my enemy and hope that now, you can be my friend." And he extended his hand.

Sooth looked at it, and Jons explained, "An Earth gesture. Its history is to indicate that one is unarmed and wishes to be friends. Each of us in the course of our duties has killed many of the other's friends and comrades. I think, perhaps, it is time for that cycle to end."

Smiling, Sooth reached out her own hand to his and clasped it gladly.

Jons said, "Alas, I must return to my duties. My ship leaves for home within the hour. I wish the two of you every success – And hope that you will tell me when M'lady here gives birth to your child. Perhaps some day we can all meet at La Sencerre in Paris and I can convert you from tea, to coffee."

Wilkes laughed and said, "I'd like that, Colonel. I...I am honored to make your acquaintance."


	9. Chapter 8

_**CHAPTER 8**_

"_Tempus fugit" _

_- Most races, here translated into Latin._

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, IN ORBIT OVER EARTH

SEPTEMBER 2269

The following morning, Sooth and Wilkes packed their bags and prepared to report back to the _Hood_. By the time their shuttlecraft finally landed in the bay, it was evening and Sooth said, "We should get dinner now. I'm starving!"

Wilkes, squeezing her arm answered, "I think that's a good sign - maybe you're eating for two." She purred and rubbed up against him, drawing a few glances from the other returning crew. One raw recruit opened his mouth to say something about the odd sight and a more experienced hand in Engineering red put his hand on his shoulder, "Don't, boot."

"I was just going..." he tried to explain.

"Just don't. You come see me after you get your gear stowed and I'll explain a few things to you. Until then, you just listen and learn, right? Trust me. It'll save you a lot of heartache."

As the young recruit opened his mouth to answer, the engineer raised his finger and said "Just listen and learn boot. That's all you gotta do." and turned to get his gear out of the racks.

As they left the shuttlebay, Wilkes said, "Damn, I really should report in to Chief Engineer White before we eat. We're supposed to report all contact with foreign nationals as soon as possible. Besides, I don't want mother's Yorkshire curd tarts to spoil...You go ahead, I'll meet you in the mess hall."

Knocking on the Chief's office door he heard a muffled "Come!" and walked through the door. "Lieutenant J.G. Wilkes reporting, sir."

White looked at him, "That stripe is still so new it squeaks." Catching sight of the package he asked, "Is that what it had better be?"

"Yes, sir." Wilkes smiled. "Mother and Father both send their best." and he placed the package on the desk. "We got married, sir."

"I'll be damned. In a church and everything? Like in the fairy tales?"

Wilkes laughed, "Yes, sir. Well maybe not quite a fairy tale. I don't think most of the inhabitants of Leyburn were quite ready for a Dosadi in a wedding gown. Come to think of it I'm not quite sure _I_ was ready for that."

"Tell me the story, Wilkes." he ordered as he dug into the package. "Ahhh! And biscuits and jam to boot! Your mother is a wonderful woman, Wilkes."

"Yes, sir." and he launched into the full story of his leave, the wedding, their struggles with Dr. Mantoux's therapies and concluding with the story of the bar fight. "So this Hydran diplomat, some Colonel, wades into the brawl with a hand-stunner. We ended up having dinner and coffee together and he kept going on about this cafe in Paris, La Sencerre, that has like the best coffee in..."

White sat up, his face chalky. "Say that again." he interrupted.

"Which?"

"The cafe. What was the cafe?"

"La Sencerre, in Pari..."

"You sure he was Hydran?"

"Yes, sir, he had bright violet skin and white..."

"Come with me, right now, Wilkes." And he slammed the com panel on his desk, "White to Karmes, meet me in briefing room three, it's urgent. We need to get in touch with _Enterprise_."

Wilkes was trying to decide just how badly he had screwed up in talking to the little Colonel. He followed the Chief Engineer to the briefing room at a trot only to find that Captain Karmes and his new First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Thalev, a blue-skinned Andorian complete with antennae, were already there. "What the hell, White?" Karmes demanded.

"Trust me, sir, I think I've found him."

Looking around the room and at the viewscreen, Wilkes was seeing more rank in one place than he had ever wanted to, two of them living legends.

White ordered him, "Tell them what you told me about the discussion you had in that pub in Marseille. Make it fast and accurate."

Sweating and standing at rigid attention Wilkes began where Jons had reached down to Sooth, trying to think what it was he said that had gotten him in this much trouble. "..and so he invited us again to the Cafe La Sencerre in Paris for coffee." he concluded and shut his mouth tight.

"What was the officer's name again, Lieutenant?" Kirk asked. Wilkes thought to himself, "Holy shit. James Freaking-T Kirk is asking me a question. "Colonel Sir Jons Seins business attache to the Hydran embassy, sir!"

Spock said, "I have him, Captain." and the Colonel's picture flashed upon the viewscreen.

"Yes, sir! That is the man, sir!"

Karmes said, "Relax, Wilkes. You done good."

Spock continued, "That is our man, Captain. A perfect correlation between his movements and the death of Commander Batho and he was also in Marseille and not visible on the sensor nets when Technician Robert Durand suffered a massive stroke and died on the waterfront. Technician Durand, as you'll recall, has been identified as having unlawfully duplicated a large amount of top secret research."

Karmes said, "Now we just have to find him."

Wilkes spoke up quickly, "Oh, he's gone, sirs." and immediately regretted it as two Captains, and three Commanders turned and stared at him.

Spock asked, "And how do you know this, Lieutenant?"

"Sir! Just before he left he told us his ship was leaving on the hour."

"Dammit!" Karmes slammed his fist onto the table.

Kirk just said, "Spock?"

"Working, Captain." There was silence for a few moments and he continued, "The Hydran cruiser _Succession_ left high-Earth orbit for Toulagai Starbase some 20 hours ago, Captain. At normal cruisng speed, they will arrive there in 28 hours, 14 minutes and 11 seconds, in time to rendezvous with the Romulon cruiser _Hyperion_."

Karmes slapped a button and the red-alert klaxon sounded throughout the ship, "All hands, this is the Captain. Emergency beam-back for all crew, we leave _immediately_"

Spock interjected, "Captain Karmes, you will need to exceed your ship's design capacity for some time in order to beat them there."

White smiled and said, "Scotty's not the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve, Commander Spock."

Kirk said, "Godspeed, Bob." and that was that.


	10. Chapter 9

_**CHAPTER 9**_

"_Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." _

_- Jim Rohn – Earth (Human)_

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, UNDER WAY

SEPTEMBER 2269

The _Hood_ was shaking, badly, as she rocketed towards Toulagai. Down in Engineering, things were starting to fail and Wilkes and his team and the rest of the Engineering staff were scrambling to replace failed junctions, arcing circuits and dead power systems. On the bridge, Captain Karmes was watching the clock tick down as well as the range to Toulagai.

"Comm, any contact with Commodore Selek yet?"

Vibrating slightly as his chair shook, Lieutenant Gordon Williams said, "No sir. We're still being jammed. It's a really strange field sir, It keeps increasing as we close, and then holding steady and then increasing again in fits and starts. It's almost like we're jamming ourselves sometimes."

"Dammit, figure that shit out!" He tapped the controls on the side of the command chair, "Karmes to Engineering, White, how are we holding up?"

"Well, Bob, we've been past Vne for about 26 hours now and we're definitely paying the price. But she'll hold together until we get there. We've broken out the duct tape."

Karmes laughed, "Oustanding. We might just make it. Defense, energize the weapons, but leave the shields down, just in case."

ROYAL HYDRAN LIGHT CRUISER SUCCESSION, UNDER WAY

SEPTEMBER 2269

Aboard the _Succession_, Colonel Jons was becoming concerned. "You say there's a jamming field?" He had, as was his practice, already inspected the Marines aboard and conducted a pair of drills.

"Yes, Colonel. But it's a damn strange field. One minute it seems to be coming from in front of us, the next from behind. Whatever it is, it's totally blocked sub-space communications. It'll interfere with transporters too."

Jons studied the tactical display in the battlesphere. Toulagai was closing fast. The Romulon ship had been in parking orbit on the far side of the starbase for the better part of a day now and had another day before she would leave. There was no real rush. So why was there a jamming field? This was strange, and Jons didn't like strange.

In orbit between his path and the _Hyperion_ was the pearly-white shape of the _USS Yorktown_.

Turning to Captain Rince he said, "Prepare a shuttleraft. Full diplomatic markings. Make sure there is nothing even remotely resembling a weapon aboard it. When we arrive at Toulagai, you will drop me in the shuttlecraft and immediately warp out for home. Explain that you have an urgent mission to protect a freighter or some such. Be creative. I will make my own way past the _Yorktown_ to the _Hyperion."_

Captain Rince stood and bowed, "Understood, sir."

FEDERATION STARBASE 26, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Commander Jackson scowled at the screens in the sensory. "So this shit has been going on how long?"

Petty Officer Bennett said, "Almost a full day now, sir. We thought it was on our end for hours and wasted a lot of time running diagnostics. It's not coming from our systems."

Gnawing on his cigar he said, "Wonderful. So where IS it coming from?"

"Apparently from 220 mark 185, sir. It keeps surging, it's not like any jamming field I've seen before but it's definitely playing hell with sub-space. We can't even use transporters right now."

"What's out that way?"

"Nothing much, the usual freighter and neutral traffic. Well, we got a part of a signal yesterday but it got cut off. Something urgent about the _Hood_."

"And this just happens to show up while we've got a Romulon cruiser overhead, a bunch of diplomats negotiating a treaty and a warning from Starfleet about sabotage and terrorists and hobgoblins. I don't like coincidences, Bennett. Something is not good and you're going to find out what it is."

"Yes, sir."

"Get me the _Yorktown_."

"Um, sir, I said the field was really playing hell with sub-space. Communications are really spotty."

"Bennett, I didn't say I wanted to hear the story of your life, I said Get me the _Yorktown."_

"Yes, sir." Bennett scrambled to try to establish some sort of contact with the heavy cruiser 42,000 kilometers overhead.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER, USS YORKTOWN, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Lieutenant Yoshida, sitting at the _Yorktown's_ helm console tried to make some sort of sense out of the snow and static on the view screen. It looked like Commander Jackson – no one else smoked cigars – but that was about all she could make out. That and a few words.

The screen went dark and Captain Kamov asked, "Anyone get anything out of that?"

After a few seconds of silence, Yoshida said, "Just something about the _Hood_ and terrorists and sabotage and something about diplomats sir."

"Well that's more than I got, so we'll go with it. So if anyone sees the _Hood_ bringing in a bunch of terrorist diplomats to sabotage the negotiations with the Romulons, you let me know."

There were a few chuckles around the bridge and the navigator spoke up, "Sir, ship dropping out of warp at 000 mark 015."

"You have got to be making a joke."

"No sir – I've got her, she's Hydran sir...the light cruiser _Succession._"

"See if you can raise her, assuming we can get better comms than we did with Toulagai."

"Yes, sir"

A few moments later the defense officer said, "Sir, she's launching a shuttlecraft...Ah, it's got full diplomatic codes. Must be for the conference."

Kamov sat back in his chair. "Really. A diplomat."

The navigator chimed in, "Sir, the _Succession's_ warping out. I got a partial signal, something about 'urgent' and 'protect' and she's gone. The shuttlecraft's making for the _Hyperion_."

"Scan it. Use all the power we've got. Find out if there's anything so much as a firecracker on board that thing."

Moments later the defense officer said, "No sir, one occupant, Hydran, no luggage."

Kamov ignored the little joke and started tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. They watched the little shuttlecraft, flashing it's diplomatic recognition markers closing with them as it made course for the Romulon cruiser.

There was the flash of a ship dropping out of warp and the navigator nearly shouted, "Sir! The _Hood_!"

"Of course it is." He frowned. Things were not making any sense here.

"Sir! Her weapons are charged! She's making straight for the shuttle!"

"Are they insane?" Kamov asked. "Raise shields until we get comms."

The Defense officer turned towards Captain Kamov, "Sir, the _HOOD_ is the source of the jamming!"


	11. Chapter 10

_**CHAPTER 10**_

_"Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain... In short, most intelligence is false." _

_- Carl Phillipp von Clausewitz – Earth (Human)_

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, APPROACHING TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Taking the tactical situation in an instant, Captain Karmes issued rapid fire orders, "Helm, get us to that shuttlecraft and put a tractor beam on her. Comms, raise the _Yorktown_." The shuttlecraft was almost directly in front of them, closing fast on the _Yorktown_, with the Romulon _Hyperion_ just visible behind the shining white disc of her primary hull.

"Sir, there's no way – the field just soared in strength and it's surging back and forth a lot faster. It's like its see-sawing back and forth between us and the _Yorktown_."

"What the hell are they on about?" Karmes asked,

"Sir! They've raised shields!"

"Oh shit. Raise ours. And dammit get me to that shuttlecraft!"

The Helm officer, Ensign Diego said, "_Yorktown's_ moving to intercept us."

"Get around - get between that shuttle and the _Hyperion_ no matter what you have to do, then get us to tractor range. And someone burn through that damn jamming!"

The _Hood_ curved gracefully up and over the twisting _Yorktown_ and then back down, now having traded places with the other cruiser, still between them and the shuttlecraft.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Kamov issued his own orders, "Yoshida, don't let them get close to the shuttle. Someone's taken over the _Hood_ – that must be the terrorists they were warning us about. Charge weapons but do NOT fire yet – see if we can get a tractor on that shuttle."

"Sir, the shuttlecraft is moving away from us, it's out of range. Still closing with the _Hyperion_. Sort of."

"What the hell? We're trying to protect them!"

"I guess they don't know that, sir."

"God dammit, will someone get me communications with SOMEONE! This is the 23rd fucking century and I'm having to use signal lights!"

"We could try that, sir." the comms officer said.

"Shut up, Swede."

The two starships began a bizarre twisting dance around each other and the shuttlecraft as both the _Hood_ and _Yorktown_ tried to close to within tractor beam distance to the shuttlecraft, which was trying to keep out of range of both while still slowly closing with the _Hyperion, _in a two steps forward, one step back sort of way.

FEDERATION STARBASE 26, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Commodore Selek, watching the tactical display as well as the live sensor feeds said, "Remarkable."

Jackson just shook his head.

Again, the news nets were alive with the images of starships fighting it out overhead.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

White contacted the bridge, "Captain, we can NOT continue maneuvering like this. We stressed the hell out of her and now we're taking everything that wasn't..." Collision alarms sounded throughout the _Hood_ as the _Yorktown_ cut them off again, her secondary hull scraping along one warp nacelle. "God DAMN! Captain, finish this before we fall apart! Williams! Get..." and he cut the connection.

Karmes made the sort of rapid decision that Captains get paid to make – and sometimes make wrong. "Weapons, I need you to take the most accurate shot you've ever taken – Low power shot, just hit one of their thrusters. Anything to give us the advantage we need. Low power, right? Just enough to damage the thruster."

"Yes, sir..." he bent to his task

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

"Targeting!" The Defense officer screamed and Yoshida rolled the big cruiser around her secondary hull as the green of a phaser lanced past, striking a glancing blow at her shields.

"Dammit! They are terrorists! Weapons, aim for their phaser emitters – just enough to take out the emitters. Make it happen!"

ROYAL HYDRAN SHUTTLECRAFT, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Jons watched the pearl-white ships fighting like two cats over a mouse. It was somewhat more..interesting...from the perspective of the mouse, he thought.

He was slowly making progress towards the _Hyperion_, but he was constrained by having to keep both ships out of tractor-beam range. This necessitated frequent rapid retreats or dodges in odd directions. He watched the _Yorktown_ cut the _Hood_ off again with a brilliant spiraling descent directly into the other ship's warp nacelles, forcing her to fall off and away.

He smiled to himself, that had to be Yoshida at the helm. She had been on an exchange from the _Yorktown_. She was still keeping him safe, he chuckled quietly and returned to his course towards the _Hyperion_, but now he had phaser-blasts to dodge as well.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

There was smoke on the bridge of the _Hood_. Karmes wasn't quite sure from where, but wasn't happy about it. Lieutenant Wu spoke up, "Sir, we could try an assault transport – Take their bridge and end this. Or hell, just use their com-sets and TELL them what's going on."

"With shields up?"

"That's what assault transporters are for, sir."

"Don't be a twit, Wu. I meant can you make it work right now."

"Yes, sir – Let me trade some phaser power for transporters and at this close a range, we should be able to burn through the shields and the jamming and put a team aboard her. We've drilled for this sort of thing extensively."

"Can you do it without killing anyone? These are our shipmates too. This has gotten WAY too out of control." The _Hood_ rocked as another shot raked across the primary hull's shields.

"Yes – we can issue hand phasers as well as rifles."

"Make it happen. Fast."

"Already at battle stations – I'll issue the orders now."

"Dammit, Helm, get around them!" another collision alarm sounded and the _Hood_ rolled away from the climbing _Yorktown_ just in time to avoid an impact.

Sooth pulled her helmet down over her head and activated her com-set. Her team was already standing on the assault pad, ready to go. "Just like the drills, right everyone?" Her blue-grey and tan mottled battle armor a stark contrast to Starfleet's gold and red. Crouching down, she again had a brief flashback to the few moments before she transported in to Airdrie. Shaking her head to clear the vision, she checked on her team. Kalea was visibly shaking, her hand phaser wobbling.

"TWENTY SECONDS!"

Reaching her hand over, she whispered, "I get the shakes too."

"FIVE SECONDS!"

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

The ship shuddered from another phaser impact and the world turned inside out. They materialized in a hallway a few decks away from their target on the bridge. Several startled crewmen working on an engineering junction froze at the apparition. Kalea's crew instantly phasered them down with a heavy stun setting as the _Yorktown's_ intruder alarms added their weird howl to the mix.

Sooth yelled into her com-set "MOVE!" and was answered with the staticy scream of a jammed com-system. Shaking her head to kill the noise, she reverted to hand signals and voice.

Petty Officer James Jones, a huge member of Kalea's team said, "We probably should've told those guys what was up instead of shooting them. I think we drilled too much on combat..."

Sooth said, "A little late now. Let's go! Battle Drill 2-Alpha EXECUTE!" and they began to race for the accessways to the bridge.

Which, of course were guarded. The first few Security crew were in standard Fleet uniforms with hand phasers and stood absolutely no chance against Sooth's armored team. But the _Yorktown_ crew were also among Starfleet's best and reacted quickly, despite their inexperience with the bulky, heavy battle armor. The _Hood_ team had managed to assault up to the deck below the bridge before they were stopped cold by another pair of armored teams; With phaser rifles.

Pinned down, Sooth tried yelling at the _Yorktown_ security teams, poking her head up and shouting "DAMMIT CEASE FIRE! WE NEED TO TELL YOU WHATS GOING ON!" only to be answered by phaser-fire and "FUCK OFF, CAT!"

Shaking her head, she resumed trying to low-crawl over to Kalea's injured team.

In the bridge, Captain Kamov was getting reports from his own security teams, "Sir, it looks like it's the Dosadi that took over the _Hood_. They must be going after the Romulons and the Hydrans again." He saw an image on his viewscreen of an armored Dosadi Marine, the distinctive blue-grey and tan mottled armor making the identification easy. They were engaging one of his security teams, hitting two with a phaser rifle before being driven back into cover. The view went dark as an errant shot hit the pickup.

"They're insane. This makes absolutely no sense."

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Aboard the _Hood_, Wilkes had a sudden flash of insight. "Holy shit, I got it." and he ran across the main engineering deck to the Chief Engineer who was working with First Officer Thalev on re-routing power around several damaged systems. Thalev advising, "No, that system remains a priority – we need to..."

Wilkes interrupted, "Chief, I know how to make this stop."

Both officers looked at him, "This better be good Wilkes." The _Hood_ groaned again as she maneuvered tightly.

"Sir, we take a shuttlecraft – make sure there's no weapons on it at all – I stick a grappler on the rear-end like a _Thunderbolt_ and we fly THAT out. Snag the Hydran shuttle and take it to the _Yorktown!_"

Thalev said, "That is brilliant. They won't fire on an unarmed shuttlecraft, the addition of the fourth craft will break the stalemate and once you grapple the other shuttle, they will likely tractor you themselves."

"Make it happen, Wilkes!"

"I need a pilot, sir. I'm a mechanic, not a flyer."

Thalev said, "I am a pilot. Quickly now." and the two grabbed Wilkes' team as they ran towards the _Hood's_ shuttlebay.

Boarding the modified shuttle, Thalev noticed Wilkes carrying a large, folded piece of cloth. "What is that, Lieutenant? I notice you brought it with you from Engineering, but I have yet to see you do anything with it."

Smiling as he sat at the grapple controls, Wilkes put Sooths' cloak on, feeling enfolded by her scent, and said, "Lucky charm, sir."

"That's not Starfleet uniform, Lieutenant."

"No sir. I'll happily report for punishment for being out of uniform if we survive."

Thelev chuckled, "I can accept that, Lieutenant. Ready for launch."

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Finally working their way through several of Kamov's security teams, Kalea, Sooth, and their three remaining mobile team members had their backs to the turbo-lift doors while some of the wounded kept a steady stream of fire going down the curving corridor.

"Well," Kalea gasped, in severe pain from a phaser burn that had clipped through the side of her armor. "This is going well."

Sooth grinned at her, the expression invisible beneath her helmet, "Better than some of the drills. The _Yorkies_ are good." Her own armor had half a dozen different deep scores in it. It's OK, I've got a plan."

"Oh goodie. Those always work out so well."

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Captain Kamov noted the shuttlecraft launching from _Hood_. "Scan that! Now!"

"Two occupants sir, nothing else. One Andorian, one human. It's just an empty shuttle."

"What the hell? Can we keep it away from the other shuttle?" The _Yorktown_'s shields rang from another phaser hit from the _Hood_.

Yoshida shook her head. "Not and keep the _Hood_ away too. I can try to get us close enough to tractor it though."

"Do it!"

The _Yorktown_ elegantly traded distance from the _Hood_ for a closer position to the shuttlecraft, the distance closing rapidly. But, the _Hood_ moved to intercept them and she had to back off to keep the _Hood_ away, then sliding her starship towards the two shuttlecraft.

"Captain!" the defense officer shouted, "The other shuttle – it's got a grapple on the Hydran!"

"So, that's their game! Yoshida, get us in tractor range NOW – Security team to the shuttle bay!"

"_Hood's_ backing away sir, and powering down their weapons. But the _Hyperion's_ coming on fast."

"What? Has everyone gone completely bat-shit insane?" The turbo-lift doors opened and everyone turned in surprise. The two Security guards dropped into a crouch, phaser rifles at the ready focused intently on the lift.

And the lift was empty. A moment later a blinding flash and deafening roar stunned the bridge crew into insensibility. Had they been able to see, they'd have observed Kalea and Sooth dropping out of bridge maintenance access-tunnels, weapons at the ready. Instead as their ears stopped ringing, they heard hand phasers discharging.

When Captain Kamov could finally see again, his security guards were unconscious on the floor, their helmets torn off and phaser stun impacts clearly visible on their faces. Armor was proof against a flash-bang grenade, but not if you were staring straight at it. "What is the _meaning_ of this!"

Sooth ordered, "Everyone away from your consoles – move quickly to the far side of the bridge, please sirs." Moments later the turbo-lift opened again and Sooth's three remaining _Hood_ security men stepped out.

Kalea, struggling to catch her breath with the burn to her side ordered "Block the doors open and take up positions to cover the access tunnels – let's not have them do unto us what we just did unto them."

Angry, Kamov barked at Sooth, "Have the Dosadi declared war on the Federation then, Marine?"

She remained silent as the com system came alive, "Bridge! Shuttle-bay! We got them both! Bridge? Bridge?"

Sooth ordered "Have your crew stand down, please sir. Your vessel is now under the command of Captain Karmes and the _USS Hood_. I need to explain what's going on."

"I'll do no such thing, pirate."

Kalea turned to one of her team, "Can you do it, Jimmy?"

"Yep." The beefy Security Guard took his helmet off and stepped to the command chair. "Good to see you again, sir." he greeted his former Captain.

"Petty Officer Jones? You transferred out six months ago. What is the meaning of this!?"

"When I was aboard _Yorktown_, I was pretty good at imitating your voice sir. Sorry about this." And he punched the com button on the command chair. "All hands, this is the captain." he said in a fair imitation of Captain Kamov's voice. "There has been a severe misunderstanding with our sister ship. Stand down. Medical teams, treat the casualties. I repeat, stand down." and he cut the connection.

The Com system came alive again, "Bridge, shuttle bay – you REALLY need to get down here. Bridge? Jesus, is this thing even working?"

Kamov faced Sooth. "Well Marine? Shall we go down to the shuttle bay then? We tractored both the Hydran shuttlecraft and one from the _Hood_ into our bay. Time to make a decision. There are still no coms with anyone. What are you going to do, Marine?"

Sooth looked at Kalea. The little Hawaiian woman shrugged back at her with her uninjured side.

Sooth swallowed hard. She really wanted to throw up. Kamov pushed her again. "Time's slipping away, Marine. Do we go down and find out what's happening in the shuttle bay or stand here and chat? The Romulon cruiser was closing with us last time I knew. What's your choice, Marine? You need to decide. You need to decide NOW."

Sooth really didn't have enough people left to do anything but hold the bridge. Maybe. If Jones' ruse had worked, maybe she could 'escort' the Captain down to the shuttle bay and why wouldn't he shut up? Finally she snapped, "Shut UP, sir."

He smiled a rather predatory smile and she decided, "Kalea, keep everyone here. I'm going to walk the Captain down to the shuttle-bay. If you don't hear from me – you know the word – in five minutes, do whatever you have to do to get to Captain Karmes."

"Right."

Gesturing with her hand phaser, she and Captain Kamov got into the turbo-lift. On the way, she began to explain to her captive audience what she had been told by Lt. Wu.


	12. Chapter 11

_**CHAPTER 11**_

_Truth will out. _

_- Proverb, many species._

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

The big bay at the aft end of _Yorktown's_ secondary hull had barely completed the landing cycle before Jons was out of his shuttle, screaming bloody murder. "I am a diplomatic officer on a diplomatic mission. You have absolutely NO right to kidnap me or interfere with my mission. I will see to it that you are all broken in rank. This is an act of WAR!"

As he paused for breath, Thelev and Wilkes piled out of their own shuttlecraft.

Catching sight of Wilkes in his rather outlandish mix of uniforms Jons said, "I will be damned. A handsome, heroic pirate flying to the rescue in a shuttlecraft."

"What?" Thelev asked.

"Nothing, just a conversation I once had with someone I thought quite silly at the time. I may have underestimated her. A bad habit of mine." Looking more closely he recognized him. "The dashing Lieutenant Wilkes, is it not?"

The _Yorktown_ bay crew looked at both groups in bewildered silence. One tech by a com panel frantically continued trying to signal the bridge.

"Good to see you again, Colonel."

"How is your lady?"

"Doing well, sir and safe aboard the _Hood_. We still have high hopes."

Thelev had finally had enough, "Well, if you two are finished playing just-folks, perhaps we can get to the bottom of this mess."

Colonel Jons smiled, "Why Commander, there is no mess. I am a diplomatic officer of the Hydran Kingdom, in a fully marked, unarmed shuttlecraft on a diplomatic mission according to treaty, custom and law and you have unlawfully detained me. I hereby require and demand that you release me and my ship or be considered in violation of several treaties and Starfleet regulations besides."

Thelev said, "Colonel, our belief is that you are a murderer and a spy in possession of illegally obtained classified information belonging to the Federation."

"That's nice, Commander. And it means nothing. I have full diplomatic immunity and you have no proof of anything whatsoever, not that it would matter if you did."

Captain Kamov stepped into the bay with Sooth just behind him, her helmet off and her armor still smoking along the gouges, a phaser-rifle slung across her back and her hand-phaser holstered at her side. "Ah, you must be Colonel Jons." he introduced himself and before Jons could begin his demands again, Kamov continued. "Colonel, I must apologize for the atrocious conduct of my officers and those of the _Hood_. There has been a tremendous misunderstanding due to the highly-charged situation here and back on Earth."

Slightly taken aback, Jons said cautiously "Of course. With your permission then, I shall be on my way."

Wilkes was stunned. Both by the appearance of Sooth and by the utter failure of their mission. He was going to get away with it.

"One moment please, Colonel. It has come to our attention that a biological weapon has been placed aboard your shuttle by terrorists on Earth who have some strange objection to the Hydran Kingdom's well-known business dealings."

"Ah, I'm quite sure that there is no such..."

"Nevertheless, Colonel, for the safety of yourself and my ship, I must board and search your vessel for contaminants or disease organisms. As you know, I am allowed to do so by Starfleet regulations to ensure the safety of my vessel now that yours has been opened inside mine, exposing my crew to who knows what."

"Captain, that is a violation of treaty an..."

"No, no, Colonel, We are only seeking a terrorist device, nothing else shall be disturbed." As he was speaking two _Yorktown_ crewmen in Science blue boarded the shuttlecraft.

Colonel Jons looked from them to Captain Kamov. He knew when he was outmaneuvered. But he still held the high card in the end. "Why thank you, Captain! I appreciate your concern for my safety, and that of our clients. No doubt this entire...misunderstanding was simply the result of misplaced zeal?"

"I'm sure that will be the case, Colonel." Kamov smiled as the two men came out of the shuttle holding the diplomatic pouch.

"Found it, Captain." the leader said.

"Captain, "Colonel Jons interrupted, "That is a diplomatic pouch and as such, sacrosanct. It must NOT be opened or examined in any way."

"Have no worries, Colonel, We wouldn't want to allow that device to get loose." he turned to the team holding the pouch, "Put it in a disposal chute immediately."

"Ah." Jons sighed watching the diplomatic pouch disappear into the opening, heading into the anti-matter reaction chambers. "Well then." and he looked at Sooth. "M'lady." he shot a quick smile at Wilkes, "Safe aboard the _Hood_?"

Wilkes shrugged as Kamov asked, "What on EARTH are you wearing, young man...Lieutenant?"

The Colonel laughed, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation, good Captain. If you would release me, I find my mission concluded and myself without a destination at the moment and I am quite famished. If I could perhaps take these two officers to your mess hall for dinner?"

Captain Kamov said, "Of course, Colonel. Allow me to provide you with two security guards to ensure that no one further interferes with your diplomatic movements."

Glowering from Wilkes to Sooth he said, "And when the Colonel has quite finished with you both, you will come see me. Bring your supervisors. And Marine, you will get your team the hell off my bridge immediately."

They both echoed "Yes, sir!"

Kamov stalked out of the bay, the bay crew still staring in utter bewilderment.


	13. Chapter 12

_**CHAPTER 12**_

_An ambassador is an honest man who is sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. _

_- Sir Henry Wotton – Earth (Human)_

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Back aboardthe _Hood_, Captain Karmes was gnawing on his fingernails. A bad habit. The _Hyperion_ had backed off again.

"Sensory to Bridge."

"This is the Captain."

"Captain, we've figured out the jamming. It's coming from the _Hyperion_. They're using our own deflector array to jam our transmissions. That's why it was surging back and forth. They're sending tight-beam directional pulses that our deflector takes, focuses and amplifies and then rebroadcasts. It had to look like WE were the ones doing the jamming."

The _Yorktown_ had been motionless and silent for several minutes now, as had the _Hood_. Karmes studied the scorches across her hull and grimaced at the thought that his weapons fire had damaged a sister ship. And at the damage done to his own vessel and crew. "Can you get through it?"

"There's no need to sir – it's fading away. We should have coms back very soon. I think they stopped."

"FINALLY!"

"Captain, incoming from the _Yorktown_."

"On screen!" Moments later the main viewscreen snapped in to a view of Captain Kamov and the obviously battle-damaged bridge of the _USS Yorktown_. "Bob, I am going to kick your ass for that. And I've got several of your crew over here half a dozen of whom are injured and one young...'officer' who looks like he walked out of a space opera."

"Did you get him?"

"You mean the very honorable Colonel Jons? Yes. But of course, he has full diplomatic immunity so we can't touch him. It was terrible though – my men found a terrorist device aboard his shuttlecraft and we had to throw it into the disposal chute. The Colonel looked...upset by its loss."

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

In the _Yorktown's_ mess hall, Wilkes was trying to adapt to the sudden change of mood. Sooth was still in her armor, and communicating with Kalea, making sure that her team was squared away medically and out of Kamov's way.

Colonel Jons went to the replicator and ordered three French Roast coffees. As he returned with the drinks to the table he began, "It seems we have done this once before." and smiled, ignoring the two security guards watching over him.

"I don't understand that, Colonel. How is it we keep running into each other? It's a big universe."

He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced, "French Roast? I think not. French Toast is closer." Looking at Wilkes he said, "It's a smaller universe than it seems, Wilkes. And history seems to have a pattern to it; a sort of fugue where there are periods of time where the same names keep cropping up in events great and small over and over again. For instance, you of the Federation – Your Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, and the rest of the crew of the _Enterprise_. It's something of a joke in the rest of the galaxy, really. If there is something going on, they will be involved.

"I'm really rather shocked they weren't here."

Wilkes coughed, "Um, they were refueling at Earth, but they were the ones who found you out, sir."

"Ah. Of course. You see? Another echo."

"But sir, we're not great important officers or historical people who do great things. I'm basically a mechanic and Sooth's a Marine!"

"An avalanche can be started by the fall of a single pebble, Wilkes. There are others caught up in our fugue as well. Do you know who the helmsman of this vessel is?"

"No, sir."

Sooth spoke up, "It's a Lieutenant Yoshida. We got their names when we captured the bridge."

Wilkes looked at her, "When you did WHAT? No wonder he's pissed."

"Be that as it may, you were both doing your duty. But the point remains – Ensign Yoshida helmed the _Succession_ during the battle over Toulagai. Which, incidentally is the ship that brought me here to...Toulagai. And when a Starfleet heavy cruiser showed up during that battle to complete the route of the Klingons it was...The _USS Hood_."

Wilkes thought about that. It was a bit more than he was prepared to digest. He needed something a bit simpler. "Sir, you murdered Commander Botha. And you're going to get away with it."

"Lieutenant, I murdered no one."

"You killed her in Paris!"

"Let us say that I did so, Lieutenant. How is that murder? Is it murder to kill your foe in battle?"

"Of course not, but that's a war!"

"There is no difference, Wilkes. A battle can involve hundreds of ships and thousands of people, or it can involve dozens of governments all maneuvering for power, or it can involve two people following their duty. The battles that are fought by intelligence officers every day are smaller and much quieter than a battle between starships, but they are no different."

"That's diplomatic bullshit, sir. Did she know she was in a battle?"

"Had this event occurred, she surely should have. Again, let us imagine the situation. An officer of one government is following her duty, attempting to apply force against another government. Should she not take steps to protect herself? If she fails to do so, that is not the fault of the one who takes advantage of her inattention or inability. Battles are not fought fairly, no matter the size."

Sooth actually agreed with him. "That's true. It is always your responsibility to protect yourself and those under you."

Jons toasted her with his coffee. "Quite."

Wilkes wasn't done yet. "But you betrayed the Federation. You stole technical data."

Jons took a sip and raised his eyebrows. "Betrayed? Wilkes, I owe no loyalty to the Federation. My duty is to my Duke and my King. Again, HAD I actually obtained data that they did not wish me to have, that would not be a betrayal, that would be me carrying out my duty to my Duke and my King, would it not?"

Wilkes tried to digest this. Could a spy be honorable? "Wilkes, the world is not as clean and simple a place as you think. Great Powers like the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulons use smaller powers like pawns in a game. They dare not fight openly so they fight proxy wars using our blood, and our planets, only occasionally becoming involved themselves. Were they to fight openly, casualties would be in the trillions with entire star systems laid waste – unimaginable.

"It is not right, it is not fair, and it is not nice. But the spies of the galaxy help maintain a...a balance of terror. As long as each Power knows everything about the others, and knows that the others in turn know everything about it, they know they cannot win as long as the technology stays roughly equal. If one Power were to gain a major advantage, they might use that advantage to trigger that final war.

"The current terrible weakness of the Romulon Star Empire, thanks to a brilliantly executed raid by our Dosadi friends here, is one of the most frightening and destabilizing things that has occurred in decades. The Romulons are wounded, afraid, and desperate. I fear that they will react like any cornered, wounded animal.

"Had I done any of these things you think that I have done, I ask you to consider what I have just said and think about the lives that would be lost in a general war across the galaxy."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Colonel. You're trying to make yourself out to be a good guy in all this."

Colonel Jons laughed, "Aren't we always the hero in our own story, Wilkes? Enough politics. The lady is going hungry and the good Captain is waiting to have a discussion with you both." and he stood up to order food for the three of them.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, UNDER WAY

OCTOBER 2269

Two days later, Wilkes, back in proper uniform, was completing his report to Chief Engineer White. Finishing the whole exhausting tale, he finally lapsed into silence.

White continued munching on some of the biscuits Wilkes' mother had sent along. "Damn, these are good...So, a Dosadi, a Hydran, and a Brit walk into a bar..."

"Sir?"

"Never mind. Dumb joke. What are we going to do with you Wilkes?"

Wilkes cleared his throat, "Captain Kamov was um, rather unhappy in general, sir. I think I was just a convenient target for being out of uniform."

"True. Sooth took over his ship, but at least she was in the proper uniform. And we're damn lucky nobody on either side died, especially with some of the more severely injured. But there's more to this than being out of uniform."

"Sir?"

"Wilkes, in a very short time you've been involved in several major battles, espionage, a battle between two _Federation_ starships, cultivated a relationship with a known spy, married a foreign national of another entire species and caused your dear mother no end of heartache." he munched away.

"You're like a bomb going off wherever you go, Wilkes. Fortunately, now that we recognize your shall we say, explosive potential, we may be able to harness it. But the last is the most serious charge. For giving your mother so much grief - and for being out of uniform, you will pull two hours extra duty every working shift for the next two weeks, said duty to involve either cleaning tools, equipment, or battle armor for Security."

Breathing a sigh of relief Wilkes said, "Yes, sir."

"I'll kick your ass later. Get out, and give Sooth a squeeze for me. I really am sorry things didn't work out with Dr. Monteaux's regimen."

Looking down Wilkes answered, "Doesn't look like it, sir. He said the whole hormonal thing was going to be a delicate balance for a while and to avoid excitement. I'm afraid a bar brawl, a battle, and an assault boarding and capture of a starship doesn't quite qualify as peace and calm." He left to go back to their quarters, now more sad than relieved.


	14. Chapter 13

_**CHAPTER 13**_

_To nourish children and raise them against odds is in any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons. _

_- Susan Sontag - Earth (Human)_

OFF THE COAST OF T'ELESH, DOSAD

MARCH 2270

Corin was leaning into the oar next to Wilkes, bending his back as they drew hard, racing away from the setting sun.

Wilkes panted, "I didn't even know there WERE lakes this big."

Corin laughed, "There's a lot more to our planet than trees, Wilkes." The longship was making good time, the six pairs of oarsmen adding to the lateen sail hung slightly forward of amidships.

"I think I need a helmet with horns on it." he gasped out as they lifted, pushed, and drew again.

Corn laughed and asked, "Why?"

"Never mind. Are you sure Toralin can do it?"

Another stroke and Corin said, "He's a medic. And if he can't, he can call a transporter. It'll be fine. Trust me, it's better to be here than there." Another stroke and he continued, "Besides these things take time, we're only about an hour out from T'Elesh at this pace."

"It's just too damn soon."

"What do you know about it?" Corin laughed. "If you can worry that much you're not pulling hard enough, put your back into it!"

An hour later, the helmsman curved them alongside the pier and people began to pile out and tie the ship fast. Corin stood up from his bench and stretched. Making his way to the tent covering the center of the boat, he peeked his head in. "Can I see?"

Eletha waved him in and he looked down. "Well thank all the gods they're not pink. But...four? I thought one?"

Wilkes looked up with a huge smile on his face, whispering so as not to wake Sooth, "We've known for a long while, but we didn't know how many...would make it. They're still too small. They're early."

Corin cocked his head to one side trying to get a good look at the little kits. Their ears were small, and more rounded than he was used to. And their tails were tiny – almost bobbed. One with reddish, spotted fur opened her bright blue eyes and mewled.

"That one's Heather." Wilkes said, and we've got "Nollos, and Rollin, and Corin. I got to pick one name but I'm not saying which." he chuckled.

Corin smiled, "There's a float to take you to the medical bay. Wait...Rollin?"

With a quiet laugh Wilkes explained, "For my father."

"AH, of course..." and he stepped back out on deck, leaning over the rail. Watching the waves, he heard the float load the new little family up and start making it's way up the hill and into the city. Eletha came and leaned on the rail next to him, her tail draped over his.

"Well, they SORT of look like Dosadi." he said, enjoying the quiet lap of the waves against the hull.

"They know it won't be easy, Corin. Nothing either of them has ever done has been easy. But they've gotten it done, haven't they?"

He smiled at her, "That's quite true. They have done rather well, haven't they?" He could hear her kits scampering around the ropes and oars. At three, and finally weaned, they were given a lot more freedom to explore. Watching Eletha look to check on her kits he thought to himself. "Not quite yet, but soon, I think."

She looked back at him and laughed "I know what you're thinking, Corin. It does seem to be getting to that part of our stories, doesn't it?"

He shook his head, "It's scary how you do that." And he turned, leaning his back on the gunwale, looking up the hill after the float. "And now there's four new stories to tell."

Turning and leaning her chin on his shoulder she said, "That's a long journey yet."


	15. Chapter 14

_**CHAPTER 14**_

DUCHY OF THE SWORD WORLDS, HYDRAN KINGDOM

APRIL 2270

Relaxing in his study, listening to the wind and rain against the tall, narrow windows of his study, Colonel Jons enjoyed a glass of wine and the warmth of the fire. Turning to the dispatches delivered by the day's courier, he quickly sorted them out. Smiling he held up one marked as a personal message data chip and smoothly inserted it into his PADD.

The action led him to remember how pleased the Romulons had been that the _Yorktown_ team had neglected to scan the PADD he was carrying and therefore failed to detect the isolinear chip he had inserted back in that pub in Marseille. It was, after all, his habit to succeed at his duties, and one had a certain reputation to maintain, after all. And of course, they had learned much about the capabilities of the Constitution Class Starships from monitoring the duel between the _Hood _and the _Yorktown._

He touched the display screen. The usual headers indicating that it had been scanned by both Starfleet Intelligence and the Hydran embassy security office flashed by and he began reading the letter. Tapping a symbol, the PADD displayed a holographic image of Sooth, proudly holding her four new kits with Wilkes standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "That's quite an armful." he thought to himself, remembering the birth of each of his own children.

"I wonder what it would be like with four at one time..." he mused and continued reading the message, full of the sort of little bits of daily life that are only of interest to those directly involved. It closed with a post-script, "PS: I still think you're a spy. But I'll admit I've been thinking about what you said about a balance of terror. I still don't agree with you, but it makes a bit more sense now."

Jons chuckled, wondering what Starfleet Intelligence would think of _that_ particular comment. The lad stood as a unique bridge between the Federation and Dosadi cultures and was deliberately communicating with a spy. He would no doubt come in for extra scrutiny in his dealings...he sat back and watched the fire for a little bit, letting his mind run.

There were possibilities here; business, intelligence, and indeed, personal as well. The boy and his wife were quite likeable, after all. But then, Colonel Jons was a very emotional man.


End file.
